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Apex CentralApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2023-38626

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A post-authenticated server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex Central 2019 (lower than build 6481) could allow an attacker to interact with internal or local services directly. Please note: an attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. This is a similar, but not identical vulnerability as CVE-2023-38625.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This is a post-authenticated server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex Central 2019 builds prior to 6481. An authenticated attacker with low-privileged code execution capability can leverage this flaw to make the server perform requests to internal or local services, potentially bypassing network boundaries. The CVSS 5.4 indicates the attack requires authentication and has limited scope impact.

MitigationUpgrade Trend Micro Apex Central 2019 to build 6481 or later. Until then, restrict administrative access to trusted users only and implement network segmentation to limit the impact of potential SSRF attacks.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Apex CentralApplication
Affected:= 2019

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Trend Micro Apex Central 2019 is installed
    Locate the Apex Central installation directory or check the Windows Programs and Features list for 'Trend Micro Apex Central' with version 2019.
    Affected if The product is present on the system and is version 2019.
  2. Determine the installed build number
    Open the Apex Central console and navigate to Help > About, or check the build number in the installation logs or registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\ApexCentral.
    Affected if The build number is lower than 6481.
  3. Confirm authentication is enabled
    Verify that user authentication is enabled in the Apex Central console under Administration > User Account settings, or check if the login page is accessible via the web interface.
    Affected if Remote or local authentication is enabled and accessible.
  4. Check for low-privileged user accounts
    Review user accounts in the Apex Central console under Administration > User Account to identify accounts with low-privileged roles that could potentially exploit this flaw.
    Affected if There are authenticated user accounts with code execution capabilities.

The environment is affected if Trend Micro Apex Central 2019 is installed with a build number lower than 6481 and user authentication is enabled, allowing an authenticated attacker to exploit the SSRF vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Trend Micro Apex Central 2019 to build 6481 or later. Until then, restrict administrative access to trusted users only and implement network segmentation to limit the impact of potential SSRF attacks.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Trend Micro Apex Central 2019 build 6481 or later

  1. Back up your current Apex Central 2019 installation and database before proceeding with any upgrade.
  2. Obtain the fixed version of Trend Micro Apex Central 2019 (build 6481 or later) from the official Trend Micro download portal or your licensed channel.
  3. Review the Trend Micro upgrade documentation for Apex Central 2019 to understand the upgrade prerequisites and process.
  4. Execute the upgrade following the vendor's recommended procedures for your specific deployment environment.
  5. After upgrade completion, verify that the Apex Central services are running correctly and confirm the build number has been updated to 6481 or higher.
Caveat Upgrade within same major version typically minimal risk; review vendor release notes for any configuration or compatibility notes

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Apex Central Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-38626 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data